A residential social care worker has been arrested on suspicion of child abduction, abuse of trust and drugs offences in Co Derry.
The 25-year-old man has been released on bail pending police enquiries.
It is understood he was an agency worker in the mid-Ulster area and that several teenagers were in his care.
The BBC reports that his has now become a major safeguarding issue for a number of health authorities in the North of Ireland.
To protect the identity of the children at the centre of the allegations, the BBC says it is not reporting which health trust is handling the case.
In a statement, the health authority confirmed that as a result of information it received, an agency worker’s contract had been terminated.
The statement added that police had been alerted and the trust was aware of an ongoing investigation.
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